by Lydia Ludmila 
All invited speakers agreed that the United States must launch a digital currency to remain globally competitive.
Five speakers at a hearing for the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services voted in favor of the U.S. developing some kind of national stablecoin or CBDC on Tuesday, citing competition from China’s progress on its digital currency.
CBDC is an acronym for Central Bank Digital Currency, which is a digital version of a country’s fiat currency. CBDCs typically exist on blockchain networks but are centralized and regulated by the issuing country.
The U.S. House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development and Monetary Policy hosted the hearing today, titled “Under the Radar: Alternative Payment Systems and the National Security Impacts of Their Growth.”
Guam House Representative Michael San Nicolas called for an “on-the-record” vote among the panel of witnesses in an effort to gauge the level of necessity for the U.S. government to establish some kind of digital currency like a CBDC.
All five speakers agreed that there was a “unanimous need.”
Wilson Center Fellow Scott Dueweke, Center for a New American Security Research Assistant Emily Jin, and Atlantic Counsel Nonresident Senior Fellow Dr. Carla Norrlof were three witnesses on the panel focused on technology and economic security.
TRM Labs Head of Legal and Government Affairs Ari Redbord and Chainalysis Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Levin were also on the witness panel.
